P.G. 2005 Progress Report Released

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 02:15 PM

Gerry Offet of Initiatives Prince George and Progress Board Co-Chair Tim Curry release report photo opinion250.com

The P.G. Progress Report has been released by Initiatives Prince George. While it notes changes on various indicators, this report also includes an economic forecast.

The overall report suggests the economy continues to grow. The population base was steady, the personal income remains the highest among peer cities and the employment rate is top of the heap.

This is the annual report which shows if the City is making progress on key economic indicators and ranks the City along with four others, Kelowna, Kamloops, Nanaimo, Chilliwack and in some cases, the B.C. average.

Here are some of the highlights:

*Indicator*	*2004*	*Rank*	*2005*	*Rank*	*Change*
Population	77,721	4	77,148	4	0
Non-residential building permits	$40 million	3	$66.3million	3	0
Housing starts	185	5	284	5	0
Net new business formations	248	5	322	5	0
Personal Income	$35,000 (2003 stat)	1	$36,271	1	0
Assessed property values	$3.6 billion	5	$3.94 billion	5	0
Employment Rate	65.7%	1	66.3%	1	0
Unemployment Rate	9.2%	5	8.2%	5	0

The forecast is "conservative" and is based on the economic forecast put together by the Credit Union Central’s Northern B.C. Economic Outlook for 2006 - 08

That forecast predicts a modest growth in population to about 80.5 thousand by 2008. The forecast also suggests housing starts will climb by 12.7% to 483, reidential sales will increase to 3251 which would be a five percent increase over today’s numbers. The price of an average home will grow from the current $130 thousand to about $169 thousand, and there will be an other 2,800 jobs created.

The forecast also notes the uncertainties facing the Prince George region, including the mountain pine beetle, the future of the pulp and paper industry, changes to other manufacturing like bioenergy, value added forestry and container exports.

Although Prince George has made gains over last year, it hasn’t translated into changes in the City’s ranking within its peer group. "We are keeping up with the pack" says Initiatives Prince George’s Gerry Offet "but we are not gaining on it."

Is it disheartening to see that with the growth that has been shown in the economic indicators there isn’t any movement in the rankings? "No, its not disheartening, " says Offet " It is a reflection of the tremendous growth that is going on throughout B.C." Offet says one of the challenges is to get people to move here and stay here. Mayor Colin Kinsley agrees "We have to start getting the message out that our wages are good, and our housing prices are low. That means you can afford the lifestyle you want."

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Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 02:15 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Gofaster on September 13 2006 8:44 PM

Greed???

Posted by: Palopu on September 13 2006 9:07 PM

It looks like most of the information on this report was gleaned from BC Stats. Insofar as the population increase to 80,000 people in 2008 this would reflect the 1.5 to 2% increase forcasted by BC Stats. What this is in effect is the total number of Births minus the total Deaths with a few people coming to town. This is very insignificant growth, however it may stop some of the ultra optimists from going overboard with their predictions. (Like 250,000 people by 2015)

A number of major projects have been completed in the last few years, like the co-gen at PG Pulp, and the Major upgrade at Husky Oil. The University construction jobs will be finished by the end of 2007, along with the Gaming Building, and the Casino related Hotels. We will get some construction at the recreational grounds at 16/97 and of course the new golf course, however there really isnt to much on the horizen. Match that with no increase in the population and at best you will maintain the status quo, which I guess is not really that bad.

We can alway rely on our friends at City Hall to continue to spend our money so we could get a New Bridge, a New Police Station, a new or used performing Arts Centre, a Co-Generation Plant and whatever else they can pull off.

The bottom line is that we are fast approaching the time when with a population of 80,000 we will no longer need any more new facilities, and then will come the years of stagnation, and under utilized facilities.

Posted by: owl on September 14 2006 1:34 AM

"The bottom line is that we are fast approaching the time when with a population of 80,000 we will no longer need any more new facilities, and then will come the years of stagnation, and under utilized facilities."

That has not happened in European countries which have seen little if any growth in the past decades.

Remember, sustainability is not about growth. Continuous growth is not sustainable. Relying on continual growth is an addiction.

As we know from the road infrastructure, at some time or another things require maintenance and eventually replacement. Add to that quality of life improvements, and one has a cyclical renewal of infrastructure, including the houses we live in. As the city gets older, and we retain or improve our lifestyles, the number of housing units being built now will have to be built just to maintain the housing stock in reasonably good repair.

We have about 35,000 housing units in the city. Atg a 100 year average replacement rate, we will be tearing down 350 units and rebuilding that many, just to simplify the more complex rotation which will actually take place. Over time, there will also be mroe and more renovations and alterations in all categories of buildings.